The Ten Guiding Principles

Recruit and keep the right people

We all talk about the importance of our people, and yet managers' actions suggest it is no more than lip service. I have always believed that you hire people who will do their job better than you do. Many managers become somewhat paranoid about whom they hire. See it as an opportunity to recruit your successor. Choose well.

Hire slowly, fire fast. Take your time to recruit the right person — that requires a good number of discussions, reference checking, alternative views from others, scenario setting. Conversely, if you have the wrong person, and more often than not you will know quickly, then fire fast. The damage you can cause through inactivity can become substantial. Both parties will know if it is not working out.

One of my prescribed readings is Jim Collins' Good to Great, where he talks about the importance of having people on the bus in terms of your strategy and vision. If they are not on the bus, then you need to get them off it, or they will seriously hinder what you are trying to achieve. Getting buy-in is critical and is an art form in itself.

I have always been fortunate that I have surrounded myself with people who make me look good and successful. All I then need to do is acknowledge and reward them, earning their loyalty. If I only need to have one skill as a manager, it is to recruit and keep the right people.

Know your role and be accountable

Sporting teams point to their success being anchored by everyone on the field knowing their role and being accountable for it. It is no different in business. The organisational structure needs to be clear and pertinent to the business. Each person needs to understand their role in the context of the entire organisation, with a clear job description and KPIs directly linked to their objectives within the organisation's objectives. These need to be specific, measurable and achievable with a clear time frame. Each member of the team is then held fully accountable for that role. Providing constant feedback, formally or otherwise, is also important.

I have developed a model to ascertain and achieve Organisational Optimisation — making the structure and levers function at a fully optimised level, so that a gap analysis reveals any potential risks or opportunities for your business.

Remove the de-motivators

I have often said that my job as a manager and leader is not to motivate people. That should always come from within; if not, you have a different issue. My role is to remove the de-motivators that are within my control — the processes, issues and factors that get in the way of good people being their best.

If you have recruited wisely and brought in a person who has been successful elsewhere, and they are not producing the return they are capable of, then perhaps they aren't the problem. I have become very adept at running through brick walls.

Plan to succeed

You know the old saying that those who don't plan are planning to fail. What amazes me is how frequently people and organisations set out on a project or a business plan without defining clearly what success looks like at the end of it.

If you can't define clearly what success looks like, communicate it and get the buy-in of all the stakeholders, then how can you possibly achieve it — let alone know when you are there? A great plan not only defines the objectives and a strategy to achieve them, it has a clearly articulated definition of what success looks like.

No data. No decision.

Emotion in business is an enemy. It creates blindness and impairs judgement. Gathering the right information is critical to making the right decisions.

I am not advocating analysis paralysis, but I believe very strongly that you need to gather the best information available to make a calculated and informed decision. Data gives you a knowledge base to work from, and removes the hazard of the heart dictating the mind.

If you don't ask, you don't get

We know the sayings about not knowing what we don't know, and about what happens when you make assumptions. I have seen many examples of people gaining advantage and moving forward by merely asking.

You don't want the regret of finding out afterwards that if you had only asked for this, or done that certain something, it would have made the difference. You can ask anything of anyone, and say anything to anyone, as long as you remember and respect the fact that it is all in the way that you do it. Learning the art of asking the right questions is key.

A crisis needs a cool head

The most stressful situations require the best decisions, and you can't make your best decisions when you are stressed. That is when you need all your wits and thoughts about you.

Great leaders perform at their best in a crisis. It is when they shine. People around you will look for your strength as a leader in these situations.

WIIIFM — have a clear value proposition

Too often we are so focused on what we want out of a situation, deal or outcome that we give little or no consideration to what is in it for the other party.

We need to be clear on the value proposition for the other party, otherwise there is no compelling reason for them to commit to what we are proposing. The other party in any negotiation wants their needs addressed before they are prepared to commit. Always assess a situation from the other party's perspective.

Communication is key — get the language right

Rarely can you ever over-communicate. People like to be informed. The message needs to be delivered continuously to ensure everyone remains on the same page. Reinforcement of the key messages dramatically improves the probability of success.

In a crisis, communication is critical to getting through it. It is also an opportunity for leadership to shine, through clear and public direction at a time when it is needed most.

If you can't measure it, you can't improve it

You need to build in processes that determine what the key success indicators are, and how you measure whether they have been achieved. That measurement enables you to set benchmarks and parameters, which in turn let you determine how to improve them further. Without measurement tools you are effectively stabbing in the dark.

Can you imagine life without accurate measuring tools when buying property, constructing buildings, or establishing road rules around speed limits? So why don't we apply the same importance to measurement inside our business? Measurement gives us certainty and clarity.